Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[mousepod]

I hear your point, Alex. That's not what I'm saying, but it's an interesting argument probably worth pursuing. Let me see if I can articulate why these bad remakes distress me so...

I'm a media fan. The few LoTers who've been to my house can attest that I have a fairly sizable collection of movies and music. One of my greatest joys is turning a friend on to some weird piece of art that they may have missed or otherwise overlooked. That's why I've been a professional DJ, a booking agent, an A&R guy, a podcaster...

A bad remake of a forgotten classic tends to create a negative feeling where there should be a blank slate. When friends are hanging out at my place, and I pull out a movie that I know they'll like, I don't want to have to explain that "it's much better than the one with Nicolas Cage - trust me..."

I remember being disgusted when the flammable band Great White had a minor MTV hit with a great Ian Hunter song... or when Bongwater covered one of my favorite tunes by Slapp Happy...

Sloppy and artless remakes might not diminish the original, but they certainly lumber the original with unnecessary baggage.